It’s not Malcolm Butler being benched, but one Super Bowl mystery may be solved.

Todd Gurley, whose usage and productivity evaporated in the playoffs to the point the MVP candidate was replaced by C.J. Anderson, may have, as suspected, been more banged up than Los Angeles let on.

Gurley had sat out the final two games of the regular season with a hurt left knee, then returned for the playoffs and was not on the injury report for the NFC Championship or Super Bowl. He insisted he was OK, but his numbers told another story: a combined 14 carries for 45 yards against the Saints and Patriots.

Anderson said while Gurley never disclosed to him the injury, he believed it to be a sprained knee.

“Obviously, it’s the same knee injury he’s had before in his career,” Anderson said. “Obviously, I had surgery on my meniscus and once you have a knee [injury], you always have a knee [injury]. So it aggravates, and he was getting a lot of touches earlier in the year — obviously, him being one of the best backs, that probably was the case.”

It’s not the same account that Rams coach Sean McVay gave after the 13-3 Super Bowl loss, in which Gurley rushed for 35 yards on 10 carries.

“Todd is healthy,” McVay said. “We just didn’t really get a chance to get anybody going offensively and that starts with me.”